Framing Nature: The Creation of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is a significant feature of the North American landscape, attracting millions of visitors annually. Yolonda Youngs' book Framing Nature explores the idea of the Grand Canyon as an icon and how visual representations shape popular ideas and meanings about national parks and the American West. She analyzes over fourteen hundred visual artifacts, including postcards, maps, magazine illustrations, and photographs, from 1869 to 2022.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 408 pages
Publication date: 15 July 2024
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is a globally recognized natural wonder that attracts over five million visitors annually, making it a significant part of the North American landscape. Its deep cultural, visual, and social history has shaped its environment into one of America's most remarkable representations of nature. However, the Grand Canyon is more than just a vacation spot, a movie backdrop, or a scenic viewpoint; it is a tangible place that can be easily conjured up in the minds of Americans. In her book, "Framing Nature," Yolonda Youngs explores the idea of the Grand Canyon as an icon and the ways in which people have come to know it through popular imagery and visual media. She analyzes and interprets over fourteen hundred visual artifacts, including postcards, maps, magazine illustrations, and photographs of the Grand Canyon, along with the words and ideas of writers, artists, explorers, and other media makers from 1869 to 2022. Youngs delves into the manipulation and commodification of visual representations and the shifting ideas, values, and meanings of nature, examining the interplay between humans and their environments and how visual representations shape popular ideas and meanings about national parks and the American West. "Framing Nature" offers a fresh perspective on how places, particularly national parks, are transformed into national and environmental symbols.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496202185